DOCSLIB.ORG

National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Philadelphia Contributionship

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Philadelphia Contributionship Form No. 10-300 (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OE THE INTERIOR ; NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS ____________TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS______ NAME HISTORIC Philadelphia Contributionship AND/OR COMMON Philadelphia Contributionship LOCATION STREETS NUMBER 212 South Fourth Street -NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Philadelphia — VICINITY OF STATE CODE COUNTY CODE Pennsylvania Philadelphia 101 HCLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE _ DISTRICT —PUBLIC 2LOCCUPIED _ AGRICULTURE _ MUSEUM X-BUILDING(S) ^-PRIVATE _ UNOCCUPIED X-COMMERCIAL —PARK —STRUCTURE —BOTH —WORK IN PROGRESS _ EDUCATIONAL _ PRIVATE RESIDENCE —SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —OBJECT _ IN PROCESS X_YES: RESTRICTED _ GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —BEING CONSIDERED _YES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION _NO —MILITARY —OTHER: OF PROPERTY Contact: Walter L. Smith, Jr. NAME The Philadelphia Contributionship for Secretary & Treas. the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire__________________ STREETS NUMBER 212 South Fourth Street CITY, TOWN STATE Philadelphia VICINITY OF Pennsylvania LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC Division of Records STREETS NUMBER Philadelphia City Hall CITY, TOWN STATE Philadelphia Pennsylvania 3REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE Historic American Buildings Survey; Pennsylvania Historical & ____Commission; Nationa 1 Register_______________________Museum DATE 1959; 1969; 1971 ^FEDERAL X-STATE _COUNTY LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS Library of Congress; Pa. Hist. & Museum Comm.; MR CITY, TOWN STATE ________Washington : Harrl ^burp;- ._ o j Washi np;t-on______D.v j - - __ C -y Pa , n t r. DESCRIPTION CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE X_EXCELLENT _DETERIORATED _UNALTERED X_ORIGINALSITE _GOOD _RUINS JXALTERED Mnypn HATF _FAIR _UNEXPOSED DESCRIBETHE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE During its early years, the Philadelphia Contributionship had no permanent headquarters. The directors conducted the firm's general business during periodic meetings in various public buildings or taverns, policyholders met annually in the Philadelphia Courthouse, and the company clerk carried out routine day-to-day business from his home or office. After 1817 routine business was conducted in the countinghouse of company treasurer Joseph S. Lewis at 25 Dock Street. The directors discussed the acquisition of a permanent company office as early as I8l6, but they did not act on this notion until 1835. In that year they bought property on South Fourth Street from Charles Poulson and engaged Thomas U. Walter, who was already on his way to becoming one of the Nation's leading architects in the Greek Revival style, to design a combination office and dwelling and supervise its construction. When completed, the building was to house the treasurer and his family as well as the business office. The elegant three-story, red brick structure that Walter produced in 1836 received a mansard roof and an additional story in 1866-67, but it has undergone no other major structural changes. It continues to serve as the Contributionship's headquarters on its original location, which is adjacent to Independence National Historic Site. A number of lesser alterations have been made to the building In 1866-67 the same architects who designed the mansard roof, Edward Collins and Charles Autenreith, supervised replacement of the deteriorating marble portico on the front facade and added curved railings and side steps to Walter's original design. In 1898, following the death of treasurer J. Somers Smith, the directors decided to convert the entire building into office space and retained the architectural firm of Furness, Evans, & Company to plan the changes and contractor John Duncan to execute them. In 1930 the company engaged architect Howard Lewis Shay to make additional internal changes, including installation of an electric elevator, and to remove the Collins and Autentfeith scrolls from the base of the fourth-floor windows and the Furness, Evans, & Company cornices from the first-floor windows. Finally, in 1969 the Contributionship's directors had the first floor space renovated (by Hatfield, Martin, & White), and recently they had a black-painted steel fire escape attached to the rear portion of the north exterior wall. As it stands today the 50-by-5^-foot, three-bay-wide structure appears, except for its mansard roof, much the same as it did in 1836. It sits over a partially raised full base- ment, displays white-painted wood and marble trim and red brick bearing walls laid in Flemish bond, and has oak joists (continued) El SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW —PREHISTORIC —ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC —COMMUNITY PLANNING —LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE —RELIGION —1400-1499 —ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC —CONSERVATION _LAW —SCIENCE —1500-1599 _AGRICULTURE —ECONOMICS —LITERATURE —SCULPTURE —1600-1699 —ARCHITECTURE —EDUCATION —MILITARY —SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN _Xl 700-1799 _ART —ENGINEERING —MUSIC —THEATER —JQ 800-1899 ^L-COMMERCE —EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT —PHILOSOPHY —TRANSPORTATION —COMMUNICATIONS —INDUSTRY —POLITICS/GOVERNMENT —OTHER (SPECIFY) —INVENTION SPECIFIC DATES Subject: 1752-present BUILDER/ARCHITECT^]!. & Robt. Knight & Thcmas Site; 1835-present "Thomas u. Walter ^v Walter STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE As historian F. C. Oviatt pointed out to the American Academy of Political and Social Science more than 70 years ago, the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire was "the first fire insurance company to be organized in the United States."^ Formed in 1752, largely as a result of exertions by Benjamin Franklin, it preceded the next oldest by 32 years. In addition it was, according to insurance historian John Bainbridge, "the first successful [mutual] insurance company" founded in this country.2 In its role as a pioneer institution the Philadelphia Contributionship established, says noted insurance executive Frederick T. Moses, two guidelines "that were to constitute the fundamentals of mutual insurance for two centuries there­ after. One was the careful selection of risks and the second was to inspect them."3 The first of these Contributionship practices constituted, in Bainbridges f s view, "the rude beginning of the science of rating risks." Besides these accomplishments, says Bainbridge, the firm originated the practice of setting rates according to the quality of the risk and "enunciated for the first time in America the great[est] principle of insurance accumulation of safety reserves."^ Thus the Philadelphia Contributionship, despite having never issued insurance outside Philadelphia and its neighboring counties, has exerted a truly monumental influence upon the conduct of the insurance industry throughout the United States. (continued) 1F.C. Oviatt, "History of Fire Insurance in the United States," in Lester W. Zartman and William H. Price (eds.), Property Insurance Marine and Fire (New Haven, 1926. Published originally in 1909.), 72. Reprinted from Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, XXVI (September, 1905), 335-58. 2john Bainbridge, Biography of an Idea: The Story of Mutual Fire and Casualty Insurance (Garden City, 1952), 21. SFrederick T. Moses, Fireman of Industry (Providence, 195*0, 10 ^Bainbridge, Biography of an Idea, 50, 5^« MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES (See continuation sheet.) ElGEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY C3.FGS. 1 SiCTQ UTM REFERENCES ZONE EASTING NORTHING ZONE EASTING NORTHING C| , I I I , I , , I I . I , I , , I D| , I I I , I , , I I , I , I , I I VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION ' The boundary of the designated property coincides with the boundary of the legal lot known as 212 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE FORM PREPARED BY NAME/TITLE George R. Adams, Director. Historic Landmarks Project___________________ ORGANIZATION DATE American Association for State and Local History____May 1977______ STREET& NUMBER TELEPHONE 1*100 Eighth Avenue South__________________61*5/242-558^_________ CITY OR TOWN STATE Nashville.__________________________Tennessee 37203_______ ESTATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL__ STATE___ LOCAL___ As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the Natfonal Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURE TITLE DATE DATE DATE Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 1111111$:! NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY ~ NOMINATION FORM CONTINUATION SHEET pfrll . Qont. ITEM NUMBER y PAGE Qne_________________ with heart-pine flooring that is covered now with carpeting. Its marble front portico measures approximately 7 feet deep and 15 feet wide and consists of a base about 2 1/2 feet high and a flat roof with a Corinthian entablature supported by two plain rectangular pilasters and four fluted Corinthian columns. The columns are joined by a balustrade that extends across the front of the portico and curves,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PEAES Guide: Philadelphia Contributionship
    PEAES Guide: Philadelphia Contributionship http://www.librarycompany.org/Economics/PEAESguide/contribution.htm Keyword Search Entire Guide View Resources by Institution Search Guide Institutions Surveyed - Select One Philadelphia Contributionship 212 South Fourth Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 627-1752 Contact Person: Carol Wojtowicz Smith, Curator/Archivist, [email protected] Overview: In 1752, Benjamin Franklin brought together a group of Philadelphians to create the first North American property insurance company. They met at the Widow Pratt's (The Royal Standard Tavern on Market Street), selected two surveyors, and laid down rules stipulating that at least one of them survey each house and write up reports that would be discussed by the entire Board, which would make decisions about the extent and rate of insurance. Franklin named the company The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. Already in 1736 he had helped to found Philadelphia's first fire brigade, the Union Fire Company. The Contributinship was a mutual insurance company that pooled risks. They based its method of operation (and name) on that of the Amicable Contributionship of London, founded in 1696. The new company was conservative in its underwriting, sending surveyors to inspect each building before insuring it. Accepted properties sported fire marks: four clasped gilded hands mounted on wood plaques. The actual cost of the survey was presumably deducted from the 10 shillings earnest money paid by every person insuring in the society. This also covered the costs of the policy and the "badge" or fire mark. Insurance at this time was limited to properties in Pennsylvania located within a ten mile radius from the center of Philadelphia.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Pennsylvania Catalogue, 1835
    OFFICERS AND STUDENTS OF THE Wm,: 'mmr' Wf UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. PHILADELPHIA: February, 1835. jMk m TRUSTEES. THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE, Ex Officio, President of the Board. RT. REV. WILLIAM WHITE, D. D. WILLIAM RAWLE, LL. D.V BENJAMIN R. MORGAN, JAMES GIBSON, HORACE BINNEY, LL. D. WILLIAM MEREDITH, * ROBERT WALN, JOHN SERGEANT, LL. D. THOMAS CADWALADER, PETER S. DUPONCEAU, LL. D. NICHOLAS BIDDLE, CHARLES CHAUNCEY, LL. D. JOSEPH HOPKINSON, LL. D. JOSEPH R. INGERSOLL, REY. PHILIP F. MAYER, D.D. PHILIP H. NICKLIN, RT. REV. HENRY U. ONDERDONK, J). D. JAMES S. SMITH, EDWARD S. BURD, JOHN KEATING, GEORGE VAUX, REV. WILLIAM H. DE LANCEY, D. D. REV. ALBERT BARNES, JOHN M. SCOTT, JAMES C. BIDPLE, Secretary and Treasurer. FACULTY OF ABTS. REV. JOHN LUDLOW, D. D. Professor of Moral Philosophy and Provost. REV. SAMUEL B. WYLIE, D. D. Professor of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Languages. ALEX. DALLAS BACHE, A. M. Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry. EDWARD H. COURTENAY, A. M. Professor of Mathematics. HENRY REED, A. M. Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature. A. D. BACHE, Secretary of the Faculty. HENRY D. ROGERS, A. M. Professor of Geology and Mineralogy. AUGUSTUS DE VALVILLE, Instructor in French. HERMANN BOKUM, Instructor in German. FREDERICK DICK, Janitor. ACADEMICAL DEPARTMENT. REV. SAMUEL W. CRAWFORD, A. M. Principal and Teacher of Classics. THOMAS M'ADAM, Teacher of English. JOHN M'KINLEY, A. B. ROBERT H. BEATTIE, A. B. Assistants in the Classics. THOMAS M'ADAM, JR. Assistant in the English School. FACULTY OF MEDICINE. PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK, M. D. Emeritus Professor of Surgery and Anatomy.
    [Show full text]
  • Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist
    DR. FRANKLIN, FRANKLIN, DR. CITIZEN SCIENTIST CITIZEN CITIZEN SCIENTIST CITIZEN SCIENTIST Janine Yorimoto Boldt With contributions by Emily A. Margolis and Introduction by Patrick Spero Edited by the Contents 5 INTRODUCTION Patrick Spero Published on the occasion of the exhibition 8 Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist April–December ACKNOWLEDGMENTS American Philosophical Society ­ South Fifth Street 10 Philadelphia, PA ESSAY amphilsoc.org Dr. Franklin, Citizen Scientist is exhibition catalog was made possible by a grant from the Janine Yorimoto Boldt National Endowment for the Humanities. 41 A BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TIMELINE 42 ILLUSTRATED CHECKLIST Any views, ndings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Janine Yorimoto Boldt / Emily A. Margolis National Endowment for the Humanities. 106 EDITED BY the American Philosophical Society SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY PROJECT MANAGEMENT Mary Grace Wahl DESIGN barb barnett graphic design llc PRINTING Brilliant Graphics, Exton, PA Front cover: Charles Willson Peale, Portrait of Benjamin Franklin (detail), , APS. Inside front cover and last page: Adapted illustrations from Benjamin Franklin, Experiments and Observations on Electricity, rd ed. ( ), APS. Copyright © by the American Philosophical Society Library & Museum All rights reserved. Identiers: ISBN -- - - | LCCN Also available as a free downloadable PDF at: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/franklinsenlightenment/ Introducti In ­, Benjamin Franklin and a group of other civically minded individuals got together to form something called the “American Philosophical Society.” Philosophy, at the time, had a much di¡erent meaning than it does today. To be a philosopher was to be one who systematically inquired into nature, often in ways that we would today consider science. e Society’s purpose was thus to “promote useful knowledge” by bringing the greatest thinkers in the British colonies together to share all that they knew and were learning.
    [Show full text]
  • Dinner with Ben Franklin: the Origins of the American Philosophical Society1
    Dinner with Ben Franklin: The Origins of the American Philosophical Society1 LINDA GREENHOUSE President, American Philosophical Society Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law, Yale University e gather today to celebrate the American Philosophical Soci- ety’s 275th anniversary. But in fact, our story begins 16 years W earlier, in 1727, here in Philadelphia, and it is that origin story that is my focus this afternoon. The measure of my success in telling that story will be whether at the end of the next 20 minutes you will be left wishing—as I was when I first encountered this tale—that you could have been a guest at the young Benjamin Franklin’s table during those years when the notion of the APS was taking shape in his incredibly fertile mind. In 1727, Franklin was 21 years old and working in Philadelphia as the manager of a printing house. He invited those whom he called his “ingenious acquaintances” to join a “club of mutual improvement” that he called The Junto, from the Latin iungere, meaning “to join.”2 Members of the Junto met on Friday evenings in a local tavern. This was not a casual invitation. Here is how Franklin described the club in his Autobiography: The Rules I drew up, requir’d that every Member in his Turn should produce one or more Queries on any Point of Morals, Poli- tics or Natural Philosophy, to be discuss’d by the Company, and once in three Months produce and read an Essay of his own Writing on any Subject he pleased. Our Debates were to be under the Direction of a President, and to be conducted in the sincere Spirit of Enquiry after Truth, without fondness for Dispute, or Desire of Victory; and to prevent Warmth, all Expressions of Posi- tiveness in Opinion, or of direct Contradiction, were after some time made contraband & prohibited under small pecuniary Penalties.3 1 Read 26 April 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • 01. Franklin Intro 9/04
    Franklin and Electrostatics- Ben Franklin as my Lab Partner A Workshop on Franklin’s Experiments in Electrostatics Developed at the Wright Center for Innovative Science Teaching Tufts University Medford MA 02155 by Robert A. Morse, Ph.D. ©2004 Sept 2004 Benjamin Franklin observing his lightning alarm. Described in Section VII. Engraving after the painting by Mason Chamberlin, R. A. Reproduced from Bigelow, 1904 Vol. VII Franklin and Electrostatics version 1.3 ©2004 Robert A. Morse Wright Center for Science Teaching, Tufts University Section I- page 1 Copyright and reproduction Copyright 2004 by Robert A. Morse, Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University, Medford, MA. Quotes from Franklin and others are in the public domain, as are images labeled public domain. These materials may be reproduced freely for educational and individual use and extracts may be used with acknowledgement and a copy of this notice.These materials may not be reproduced for commercial use or otherwise sold without permission from the copyright holder. The materials are available on the Wright Center website at www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/ Acknowledgements Rodney LaBrecque, then at Milton Academy, wrote a set of laboratory activities on Benjamin Franklin’s experiments, which was published as an appendix to my 1992 book, Teaching about Electrostatics, and I thank him for directing my attention to Franklin’s writing and the possibility of using his experiments in teaching. I would like to thank the Fondation H. Dudley Wright and the Wright Center for Innovative Science Teaching at Tufts University for the fellowship support and facilities that made this work possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Philadelphia's First Fire Defences 355
    Philadelphia's First Fire Defences 355 PHILADELPHIA'S FIEST FIKE DEFENCES By HARROLD E. GILLINGHAM History fails to reveal who first produced fire, mean- ing thereby the friendly fire for warmth and cooking; and it is equally uncertain who first thought of fire prevention, when the friendly fire became antagonistic. In the year 59 A. D., Lyons, in France, was destroyed by fire and Nero offered to have the city rebuilt, yet in 64 A. D., Rome itself suffered from a fire which burnt for eight days and two-thirds of the city was destroyed; during which time Nero is reputed to have fiddled instead of attempting to save the city. London experienced five great fires. In 798, most of the city was destroyed; in 982, it again was almost completely consumed. The years 1086 and 1212 are to be remembered, as then other great fires occurred. The "Great Fire of London," which started September 2, 1666, and continued four days, burnt over four hun- dred acres of buildings, entailing a property loss of more than fifty million dollars, is generally spoken of when the subject of fires and fire prevention are under discussion. During all these years the matter of fire prevention was carefully considered. In 1068, William I. (The Conqueror), introduced the curfew, when all fires and lights had to be extinguished as a means of safety. In 1189, Richard I. (Cour de Leon), had ladders kept near all the great houses of London, that the owners thereof could "succour their neighbors in case mis- adventure should occur from fire";1 and between the feast of Pentecost and the feast of St.
    [Show full text]
  • At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin: a Brief History of the Library Company of Philadelphia
    At the Instance of Benjamin Franklin: A Brief History of The Library Company of Philadelphia On July 1, 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a number of his fellow members of the Junto drew up "Articles of Agreement" to found a library. The Junto was a discussion group of young men seeking social, economic, intellectual, and political advancement. When they foundered on a point of fact, they needed a printed authority to settle the divergence of opinion. In colonial Pennsylvania at the time there were not many books. Standard English reference works were expensive and difficult to obtain. Franklin and his friends were mostly mechanics of moderate means. None alone could have afforded a representative library, nor, indeed, many imported books. By pooling their resources in pragmatic Franklinian fashion, they could. The contribution of each created the book capital of all. Fifty subscribers invested forty shillings each and promised to pay ten shillings a year thereafter to buy books and maintain a shareholder's library. Thus "the Mother of all American Subscription Libraries" was established. A seal was decided upon with the device: "Two Books open, Each encompass'd with Glory, or Beams of Light, between which water streaming from above into an Urn below, thence issues at many Vents into lesser Urns, and Motto, circumscribing the whole, Communiter Bona profundere Deum est." This translates freely: "To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine." The silversmith Philip Syng engraved the seal. The first list of desiderata to stock the Tin Suggestion shelves was sent to London on March 31, 1732, and by autumn that Box, ca.
    [Show full text]
  • EXTENSIONS of REMARKS, Vol
    June 22, 2007 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 153, Pt. 12 17107 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL L. PULTE propriations bill. In total, H.R. 2764 allocates with their families who have a different burden $441 million for such programs, which rep- to bear in their absence. I look forward to the HON. JIM GERLACH resents an increase of $116 million above the day when I can welcome home each member OF PENNSYLVANIA President’s request. This increase is designed of the 1st Battalion, 11th Marines and witness IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES to ease restrictions on access to contracep- the happy reunions of families separated for tives and family planning information that is too long. Thursday, June 21, 2007 crucial to help women and men throughout the f Mr. GERLACH. Madam Speaker, I rise developing world make informed decisions on today to honor Michael L. Pulte for his years their reproductive health needs. TRIBUTE TO WARREN LODGE NO. of service to community and country. Since 1984, U.S. international family plan- 310 OF COLLEGEVILLE, PA That exemplary record began when he ning assistance has been stymied by the Mex- served as a member of the armed services ico City Policy or the ‘‘Global Gag rule.’’ The HON. JIM GERLACH from 1955 to 1957, with particular duties in Mexico City Policy prevents any U.S. funding OF PENNSYLVANIA Fort Knox and in Germany. for reproductive health from going towards IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES After his military service, he joined Hudson’s family planning organizations that provide Thursday, June 21, 2007 Department Store and opened the second de- abortions.
    [Show full text]
  • Ben Franklin 300Th Birthday
    emcsNL_fall06_2ndhalf.qxd 1/8/07 3:43 PM Page 87 Happy 300th Birthday, Ben Franklin! by Aziz S. Inan, 2006 IEEE International Symposium Committee Member Introduction remained there less than a year. Then, after a long sickness. Ben returned to Benjamin (Ben) Franklin was born in Ben was sent to Brownell’s English work for Samuel Keimer in the printing 1706 and this year marks his 300th School where he studied English, writing trade. In 1728, Ben resigned to form a birthday. Franklin is considered to be and mathematics. There, he acquired fair printing partnership with Hugh Mered- one of the first electrical engineers. He writing skills but failed in mathematics. ith in Philadelphia. In 1729, Ben and popularized the study of electrical sci- In 1716, Ben was removed from school Meredith purchased the failing Pennsyl- ence, performed an extremely dangerous by his father and became an assistant at vania Gazette from Keimer, and Ben kite experiment in 1752 to prove that his chandler’s shop. In 1718, Ben was immediately turned it into a success. In lightning is a form of electrical dis- apprenticed to his half-brother, James, a 1732, Ben published Poor Richard’s charge, and discovered the lightning newspaper printer. The printing job Almanac. Both of Ben’s publications, the rod. He laid the foundation of the dis- seemed like a good choice for Ben since Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s tinction between conductors and insula- he enjoyed reading and writing. Ben read Almanac, became very popular and made tors, the action of pointed bodies and the as much as he could and also wrote arti- Ben a wealthy person.
    [Show full text]
  • National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form
    Form No. 10-300 (Rev. 10-74) UN1THD STATUS DLPARTMhNT OK THt, INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS NAME HISTORIC Hill-Physic^: Keith House AND/OR COMMON Hill-Physick-Keith House LOCATION STREET & NUMBER 321 South Fourth Street —NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Philadelphia _. VICINITY OF STATE CODE COUNTY CODE ™» __«_JEliilj9.dfi3Lphia 42 Philadelphia 101 EfCLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE —DISTRICT — PUBLIC XX_OCCUPIED —AGRICULTURE XXMUSEUM X)LBUILDfNG(S) —UNOCCUPIED —COMMERCIAL. —PARK —STRUCTURE —BOTH —WORK IN PROGRESS —EDUCATIONAL —PRIVATE RESIDENCE —SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS _ OBJECT —IN PROCESS —YES: RESTRICTED _ GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC _ BEING CONSIDERED X_YES: UNRESTRICTED —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION —NO —MILITARY —OTHER. OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks STREETS NUMBER STATE Philadelphia VICINITY OF Pennsylvania LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC. Department of Records STREET & NUMBER Hall CITY, TOWN STATE Philadelphia Pennsylvania REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE Historic American Buildings Survey DATE X_FEDERAL —STATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS^R°!L J^ibrarv__of_ Congress CITY, TOWN Washington DESCRIPTION CONDITION CHECK ONE CHECK ONE .^EXCELLENT _DETERIORATED XXUNALTERED XXORIGINAL SITE _GOOD _RUINS _ALTERED _MOVED DATE_______ _FAIR XX Restored _UNEXPOSED ——————————DESCR| BE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The Hill-Physick-Keith House, as Philip Syng Physick 1 s home is today known, is located at 321 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constructed in approximately 1786 the building is a three story brick mansion with an attic, four dormer windows, and a shingled hip roof.
    [Show full text]
  • Old Philadelphia: Redevelopment and Conservation Author(S): William E
    Old Philadelphia: Redevelopment and Conservation Author(s): William E. Lingelbach Source: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 93, No. 2, Studies of Historical Documents in the Library of the American Philosophical Society (May 16, 1949), pp. 179-207 Published by: American Philosophical Society Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3143438 Accessed: 30-08-2018 19:04 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms American Philosophical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society This content downloaded from 65.213.241.226 on Thu, 30 Aug 2018 19:04:00 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms OLD PHILADELPHIA: REDEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION WILLIAM E. LINGELBACH Librarian, American Philosophical Society; Professor Emeritus of Modern European History, University of Pennsylvania FEDERAL STATE AND CITY PLANS a National Shrine in accordance with the terms THE extraordinary awakening of ofcivic a contract interest between the city and the Department in Old Philadelphia in the last decade of the seems Interior.
    [Show full text]
  • 1733, Calendar 2.Pdf
    Franklin's Accounts, 1733, Calendar 2 1 Introduction: Two more Franklin friends turn up in 1733: the lawyer Thomas Hopkinson (16 Aug) and the silversmith Philip Syng (Sept), both members of the Junto, the Library Company, the Union Fire Company and other Franklin projects. In addition, the merchant Samuel Coates (24 Oct), who belonged to the Library Company and the Union Fire Company, and the joiner Stephen Armit (11 Jan), who belonged to the Union Fire Company, are present. The Boston printer Thomas Fleet (17 Aug), whom Franklin had known while working as an apprentice, and BF’s Philadelphia printing competitor Andrew Bradford (31 July) also charged on credit in the 1733 accounts. Franklin’s neighbor, the artist Gustavus Hesselius (15 Jan), makes the first of many appearances. Deborah Franklin’s cousin Caleb Cash (15 Jan) is there, as is the Quaker physician Dr. Samuel Chew (13 Feb), the Chief Justice of the Lower Counties (Delaware) who defended self-defense in 1742 and was consequently expelled from the Quaker meeting. The abolitionist Benjamin Lay (6 Feb), whose writings Franklin printed, and the schoolteacher Anthony Benezet (20 March), who later became an abolitionist both appear. BF called his wife “Debby” in the accounts (21 March). Stephen Potts continued to rent from the Franklins at 30s per year (6 Jan). BF recorded that he repaid Robert Grace £10 “in Part of his Bond” on 27 June. The reference may suggest that Franklin borrowed the money to buy out Hugh Meredith as his partner, and that Robert Grace and William Coleman, instead of loaning him the money themselves, put up a bond guaranteeing the loan (27 June).
    [Show full text]